An Unusual Relationship
by wholocker78218
Summary: When Dylan gets home from work he sees someone he didn't expect to see.
1. A Chance Meeting

It had been a very long and boring shift and Dylan could not wait to get home. He jumped in his rusty old jeep and started off towards the bay. Just as he got out the car and walked to his boat. He saw someone out of the corner of his eye. No one ever came towards this side of the bay, and to be honest that was the way he liked it.

"Dylan?" Shouted the figure that was walking towards him. He looked up to see none other than Rita Freeman, a nurse from the hospital.

Not that he would ever admit it out loud he liked her. Not in a romantic way but he found her less irritating than all the other nurses that worked in the hospital. The only thing he didn't like was the fact that she as almost always happy, and in the past few years he was only ever grumpy. Truthfully he had always been grumpy but the past few years had been hard on him and he didn't want anyone- other than those who already knew- to know about his past in Holby.

"What are you doing here?" He said in his usual (grumpy) tone.

"I could ask you the same question?" She replied smiling.

"I happen to live here. I'll ask again, why are you here?" He said getting grumpier as time passed on.

"I fancied a walk along the bay. Do you really live here? Like on a boat?" she questioned him.

"Yes. This one actually." He said pointing to the boat in front of them.

"This might be weird but can I have a look, inside I mean. If it's not too much trouble?" This caught him off guard. She wanted to see the inside off his boat/ home.

"Um sure. If you really want to."

He unlocked the door and lead Rita down into the living/kitchen area.

"It's so much cooler than I expected it to be." she said as she sat down on the sofa. "I used to want to live on a boat when I was a kid but I sort of grew out of it, I suppose."

"Would you like some tea or coffee?" He asked her trying to be polite.

"Tea please, milk two sugars."

As Dylan busied himself with making tea, Rita looked around his 'home'. She saw the hallway the must lead to the bathroom and bedroom, and the coffee cup that looked to have traces of cereal left in it.

"Here you go." Dylan said as he passed her the cup, his hand slightly brushing hers as he let go which sent a jolt up her harm and made her stomach area suddenly feel warm. Luckily he didn't notice. She busied herself with drinking the tea just for something to do so as not to seem awkward.

"How long have you live here?" She asked breaking the silence. Well I have lived in the boat for couple of years but I moved around a bit before coming back to Holby."

"I didn't know you used to live in Holby? Does that mean you worked at the hospital before?" Realising his mistake he tried to come across normal and just replied with a simple yes.

The talked for a bit about random stuff and neither realised how late it was until Rita looked at her phone. It was 1:00 in the morning. She had been here for just over 3 hours just talking to what she thought was just a grumpy doctor when actually he was quite nice if you spent the time to talk to him.

"I best be leaving," she said. "It's really late." She didn't want to leave though which was weird.

"Yes of course." He replied as he looked at the time. To be honest, he didn't want her to leave.


	2. Need a lift?

The next day as Dylan drove to work he couldn't get Rita off his mind. She had been sat on his boat and they had talked, just a nice conversation without all the awkwardness of romance.

_She looked nice last night, how come he hadn't noticed how beautiful she was before. No Dylan! He scolded himself Rita is just a friend! He didn't need all that kind of trouble. Not again._

He arrived at work 10 minutes before his shift started, so he decided he would go have a cup of coffee in the staff room. As he walked into the hospital he was greeted by Zoe.

"Dylan. Have a goodnight last night?" she said smiling.

"What do you mean?" He said suddenly thinking about Rita. _Stop it Dylan._

"Isn't Dervla at the vets for a few days?"

"Oh, yeah. Yes she is. My night was good." Releasing the breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Dr Keogh had a good night. That's unusual. I didn't know you could have fun without that dog of yours." She said laughing. He rolled his eyes.

"If you don't mind, I fancy some coffee?" He said, back to his grumpy self again. He walked into the staffroom which was empty apart from one person, Rita.

"Hello." She said cheerily.

"Hello." He said walking towards the kettle which still had some boiling water inside, he poured himself a cup then sat down opposite her. "Get home safe?" _Of course she got home safe, she is here smiling isn't she, you idiot!_

"Yes thanks. It was nice last night, nice to just talk to someone about anything." She said shocked at his interest about her wellbeing.

"Yes, it was. It was indeed" Finishing his coffee quickly and burning his mouth he got up to leave. "I should probably get ready for my shift. See you later, I suppose."He didn't want to leave but he was right. He needed to get ready for his shift.

"Yeah, see you later." She said.

The day went by quickly and by the end of his shift Dylan was tired. He walked outside the hospital and standing alone shivering in the cold stood Rita.

"Hello, are you waiting on someone?" He asked.

"No, I was just about to call a taxi but I have no battery left in my phone. I couldn't borrow yours could I? Her teeth chattering as she spoke. He paused briefly.

"Do you want a lift?" He asked nervously trying not to sound to happy about the idea although he hoped she would say yes.

"That- That would be great, thank you." She said smiling but her teeth still were chattering.

"Come on then, quickly before you turn into and ice sculpture." She couldn't help but laugh at his comment and jogged up to walk beside him. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked with her bright smile.

"Sure." He replied starting to get slightly nervous on what might follow.

"I don't mean to be rude but do you ever smile or laugh or generally just be happy?"

He couldn't help but laugh, which she liked. "Does that answer your question?" He opened the doors to the car and they both hopped in. "So where am I dropping you?"

"By the bay, I might not live on a boat but I do like to be near them." She smiled warmly and Dylan couldn't help but stare. After far too long he started the car and drove off towards the bay. He parked the car outside where she said she lived. "Do you want to come up, for a drink or something? My way of saying thanks for the left. She asked nervously.

_Say no Dylan. Don't give yourself false hope. False hope? That means you like her. Dammit. Just. Say. No. _"Yeah sure, I don't have anywhere I have to be." _Idiot!_

The walked up to her flat and as she went to make coffee for the two of them he sat on the couch in silence. She came back a few minutes later with two steaming hot cups of coffee in her hands; she passed one to Dylan and placed hers on the table. "It's not much but I like it. I mean we can't all live on nice boats." She smiled as she spoke, he stared for a little too long at her but soon realised and started to drink his coffee which burnt the bridge of his mouth. He did his best not to flinch and she didn't seem to notice, she just kept smiling. _How am I supposed to focus when she looks amazing whenever she smiles, well all the time really? Don't think about it Dylan. Just don't._

"It's nice, I like it." He said trying to distract himself from her.

They talked for about an hour until he realised he was starting to feel as if he might doze off soon if he didn't get home. "I should probably be going; it has been a long day." He really wished he had had more caffeine to keep him awake, to keep him here longer. He walked towards the door, Rita following right behind him. He paused at the door and turned to say good bye, but before he could say anything, her lips were on his. At first he was shocked but as she pulled away embarrassed he looked into her eyes and pulled he back towards him. This time she was hungrier; they both were.


End file.
